Bottom Of The Barrel
by FloatingAmoeba
Summary: Dani concentrates. She puts one foot in front of the other and tries to remember when she last felt this helpless. Post-ep for 1x06 'Powerless'.


A/N So, this is my first Life fic, and I hope you guys like it! Post-ep for 1x06 'Powerless' - rated T for language and sexual references.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Life. Title from the song by Amos Lee.

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><p>Nobody has any fruit. He asked. There's nothing. Not even a banana.<p>

He hovers while the paramedics check her pulse and blood rate and her eyes to make sure she's really _with_ them.

Eventually, somebody offers him a sympathetic smile and tells him that she'll be fine. He highly doubts that, but nods anyway.

"Come on, Reese," he whispers into her ear, bending to help her stand. She falters, her small hand tightening around his arm.

Dani concentrates. She puts one foot in front of the other and tries to remember when she last felt this helpless. The shame is weighing her down. But Charlie Crews is beside her, and there might be a tiny hint of hope at the edge of her mind.

She wants him to know. She wants him to get that the coke sends you sky high and the heroin brings you crashing back to earth. Like peaks and valleys.

"You know what it feels like?" she slurs, her cheek pressed against his shoulder, "Like an orgasm. Except..._one hundred_ times better."

He is silent for a moment, until, "I do have tattoos, you know."

For some reason, that just makes her laugh. And then she's crying. Maybe both at the same time.

"There's no light, Charlie," she whispers, broken, "There're no angels. I'm no angel. And no tunnels. No tunnels. Just..."

He turns, catching her before she can fall and lifting her into his arms as he says, "Dark."

When they finally make it, she looks pitifully small against the leather of his car, and he slides his jacket around her shoulders before he buckles her in.

Her words all run together when she speaks, but he's pretty sure she says, "There're no steps. Get to the top, fall back down. 'S like snakes and ladders. Repeat."

Charlie doesn't know who she's talking to.

He drives faster than he should. The vague thought of _'What do I do now?'_ comes and goes.

"Nice house," she giggles as they move past the pile of cushions in the middle of the floor.

"Thank you," he replies.

Dani stumbles up the stairs, leaning heavily against him. She is silent as he pulls off her shoes and pants - it's not like he hasn't seen it before, and the not-so-distant memory of his hands on her waist makes her shiver - and tosses them behind him.

He pulls back the covers, then slips her out of her shirt. He swallows hard.

And Dani laughs then, low in her throat and not really _her_. "Do you _want_ me, Crews? Do you want to fuck me?"

Charlie doesn't answer. He thinks of strawberries and papayas and mangoes and tries not to tell her _yes_. Dani groans as her head finds its place on the pillow.

"You should sleep," he says.

She doesn't let go of his hand. "I want you to stay."

"I think I'll stay," he says, as if she hadn't spoken. Dani flinches as her stomach turns. Throwing up looks like a viable option. A gentle hand brushes hair away from her face and the nausea ebbs away like the tide.

Charlie watches her. She's perfect. Like a fresh green apple off the tree. He blows out a breath then lies down behind her. He wonders how hard it'll be to keep his hands to himself.

Then she rolls over, looks up at him through bleary eyes, and curls into the side of his body.

_Now_ he wonders if keeping his hands to himself is even an option anymore.

When Charlie brings her coffee the next morning, sitting on _his_ side of _his_ bed while she slouches on the other, she doesn't think twice about sniffing it first.

He chuckles. "There's a splash of rum in there. Not much."

She breathes a sigh of relief, because for the first time, she doesn't have to explain and she doesn't have to justify and she doesn't have to go it alone.

"Bringing me down gently?"

He stares at her, his head tilted to one side. "Well, you _did_ ask me not to let you fall."

Dani stares back, brown eyes colliding with clear blue and so many things are said into the nothingness. It's thank you and I need you and maybe even a little bit of I have feelings for you, until they both feel the silence edge into uncomfortable, and Charlie stands suddenly.

"You know what else is good? Fruit salad. Everybody loves fruit salad. I'm going to make you some fruit salad."

He's got one foot out of the door when her voice stops him.

"Thank you." She sounds a little lost. Maybe scared.

Charlie smiles over his shoulder. "Do you like melon?"


End file.
